Labour MP Simon Danczuk said on Tuesday that Lord Brittan has “questions to answer” over the missing dossier amid rumours of a high-level cover-up

The former Home Secretary said he asked his officials to "look carefully" at the explosive report on a Westminster paedophile ring but heard nothing more about it.

“This was the normal procedure,” Lord Brittan said this morning.

Labour MP Simon Danczuk said on Tuesday that Lord Brittan has “questions to answer” over the missing dossier amid rumours of a high-level cover-up.

The campaigning Rochdale MP said politics remains the “last refuge of child sex deniers” and revealed he had been pressured not to name those he suspects were involved in historic crimes.

He highlighted a 50-page report compiled by the late Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens in the 1980s which made explosive allegations about a ring of high profile paedophiles operating in and around Westminster.

Mr Dickens handed the report to then-Home Secretary Lord Brittan in 1984, but nothing was done.

Mr Danczuk told the Commons home affairs committee on Tuesday: “We know it arrived at the Home Office, but we don't know where it is since.

“The Home Secretary was Leon Brittan and I think it would be helpful if he stepped forward and shared his thoughts.”

He added: “I think there are questions to be answered.”

Lord Brittan, who stepped down as an MP in 1993 and became a Tory peer in 2000, released a statement this morning.

He said: “I told Mr Dickens I would ensure the papers were looked at carefully by the Home Office and acted on as necessary.

“Following the meeting, I asked my officials to look carefully at the material and report back if they considered that any action needed to be taken by the Home Office.

“This was the normal procedure for handling material presented to the Home Secretary.

“I do not recall being contacted further about these matters by Home Office officials or by Mr Dickens or by anyone else."